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AWD*V70XC
10-05-2004, 12:34 PM
For some time I have been talking about the new models coming out, like the H30 or the XC60, and still Volvo are keeping their cards close to their chest, very shortly I am 'going equiped' for a sneek into the Volvo plant and see what they have hiding in their secret store. The new cars are there!!! if only someone could get a photot and press release of them.

Anyway here is some more hot air and recycled hot air that has been talked about (my me) before, if only they would come clean, then they would attract new Volvo owners!!!


- As part of its goal to reach 600,000 global annual sales, Volvo Car Corp. wants to expand its product line into three new segments.

The new products will be spread above, below and smack in the middle of its present price range.

The three vehicles on the wish list are:

A sedan-wagon crossover placed above the S80 and V70, based loosely on the V90 concept car.

A car-based SUV derived from the S40 and V50 platform, similar to the BMW X3.

A small hatchback-wagon sized below the V50, similar to the Audi A3.
The products have not received final approval. But Volvo executives say they are under serious consideration.

No introduction target nor projected volumes were given for the vehicles, but Volvo has said it wants to hit 600,000 annual sales by the end of the decade. This year, Volvo should sell about 450,000 units, which would be a record.

Through September this year, Volvo sold 93,817 vehicles in the United States, up 3.2 percent from the same period of 2003.

Ambitious goals

In stretching the lineup, Volvo Car Corp. CEO Hans-Olov Olsson has ambitious plans to see the Volvo lineup mentioned in the same breath as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus. Olsson also wants to see the Volvo brand have comparable profit, growth, customer satisfaction and perceived quality.

"We are going to outperform the Germans and Japanese," Olsson boldly predicted in an interview at the Paris Motor Show.

But Olsson also realizes that expansion plans carry risk.

"There is a balancing act of economies of scale versus integrity. We are not a mass manufacturer. You have to have an understanding when you are a premium brand about where you cannot compromise," Olsson said.

One area without compromise: interiors. Olsson nicked the German automakers for their over-reliance on gadgetry. Volvo will concentrate on refined interior materials.

"You can go wrong easily by over-investing in technology," Olsson said. "It is better to have sophistication in choosing your materials. There shouldn't be a shock for the person going from the outside to the inside."

New products

At the top of the range, a large people-carrying crossover between a V70 and S80 is being examined, said Lex Kerssemakers, cqVolvo Car senior vice president for product and business strategy. But aduplicate of the V90 concept wagon is unlikely, because of its sheer size.

Another hot segment: small car-based SUVs. Kerssemakers said designers are still quibbling over "whether we make it a sport wagon like an Alfa 156, or a real SUV like a XC90."

Kerssemakers said Volvo has been working with Land Rover to share the architecture of such a vehicle, but that it is proving awkward.

"Land Rover is off-road focused with on-road capability, while Volvo is on-road focused with off-road capability," Kerssemakers said. "Land Rover knows they would have to make a lot of changes for theirs to work. But if they make all those changes, then we can't afford to build it, or at least we won't need all that capability."

Eric Noble, president of The Car Lab consultancy in Orange, Calif., said building a smaller version of the XC90 is "a no-brainer".

"If they made a Volvo version of the BMW X3 with any level of execution, and show the same aggressiveness on pricing as they did on S40 and V50, their biggest problem would be capacity," Noble said.

At the bottom of the product lineup could be a vehicle smaller than the S40 or V50. It could be a hatchback, a wagon, or a cross between the two. Former Premier Automotive Group boss Wolfgang Reitzle hinted at such a product in 2001, and Kerssemakers says such a vehicle is "high on our wish list."

Such a vehicle would help Volvo's corporate scores in fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions. But here Noble disagrees: "From a return on investment standpoint, there is no business case for a luxury brand to go down market, especially for a brand with smaller resources like Volvo. Why should they spend their money on a segment with smaller margins?"

Kerssemakers said the expansion of the product line also would include diversifying Volvo's existing offerings. Volvo's use of a V-8 engine likely will not stop with the XC90, he said.

"We're not going to go above the S80 sedan in size, because that is not our range. But we could put a V-8 engine in the S80 without making it a bigger car," Kerssemakers said.

But Kerssemakers added that the new entries would take a back seat to refilling the present product pipeline.

"The S60 and V70 are our first priority for replacement. We'll never grow to 600,000 units a year without making money on our existing products," Kerssemakers said. "It's a constant tradeoff."

AWD*V70XC
10-18-2004, 12:31 PM
Same story, just released a little later than the previous one.


As part of its goal to reach 600,000 global annual sales, Volvo wants to expand into three new segments, Automotive News Europe said.

The new products will be spread above, below and in the middle of its present price range.

The three vehicles are a sedan-wagon crossover placed above the S80 and V70, based loosely on the V90 concept car (this could be the XC60); a car-based SUV derived from the S40 and V50 platform, similar to the BMW X3 (this could be the XC50), and a small hatchback-wagon sized below the V50, similar to the Audi A3. (this could be the H30)

Volvo CEO Hans-Olov Olsson believes the line-up expansion will help boost Volvo's brand closer to luxury brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.

"We are going to outperform the Germans and Japanese," Olsson boldly predicted.

At the top of the range, a large people-carrying crossover between a V70 and S80 is being examined, said Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo Car senior vice president for product and business strategy. But a duplicate of the V90 concept wagon is unlikely, because of its sheer size.

Another hot segment: small car-based SUVs. Kerssemakers said designers are still quibbling over "whether we make it a sport wagon like an Alfa 156, or a real SUV like an XC90."

Kerssemakers said Volvo has been working with Land Rover to share the architecture of such a vehicle, but that is proving awkward.

"Land Rover is off-road focused with on-road capability, while Volvo is on-road focused with off-road capability," Kerssemakers said.

At the bottom of the product line-up could be a vehicle smaller than the S40 or V50. It could be a hatchback, a wagon, or a cross between the two.

The products have not received final approval. But Volvo executives say they are under serious consideration, although they did not discuss projected timing or volume targets for the proposed vehicles. But Volvo wants to grow to 600,000 annual sales by the end of the decade.

This year, Volvo should sell about 450,000 units globally, which would be a record.